A whale "splurged $630,000" using an Ether.fi payment card and earned back $3,177 in WETH rewards! Netizens mock: 0.5% cashback is a huge loss

Is this the future of finance? The crypto community has recently been buzzing about a stunning $635,000 real-world purchase. This whale used "Ether.fi Cash," a DeFi credit card launched by the Ethereum restaking protocol Ether.fi, to swipe in one go and received approximately $3,177 in WETH rewards. While the massive spending was jaw-dropping and sparked heated speculation about whether it was for a supercar or a house, sharp-eyed netizens calculated that the cashback rate was only 0.5%, calling the move a "rip-off." (Previously: MEXC partners with ether.fi to launch newly upgraded payment card | Earn up to 4% cashback on purchases) (Background: Traditional finance giants | Charles Schwab and Citadel Securities reveal entry into prediction markets, executives had already privately invested in Kalshi) Just how big a transaction can a crypto credit card handle? One whale gave a shocking answer through actual action. According to a recent post by X user @0xDani, someone completed a single jaw-dropping purchase of $635,266 through the Ether.fi Cash credit card, earning approximately $3,177 worth of WETH cashback from it. As soon as the screenshot of this "HUGE" transaction was exposed, it immediately sparked fierce discussion in the crypto community. HUGE. Someone just made a single $635,266 purchase through the EtherFi card And earned roughly $3,177 back in WETH cashback Thoughts? pic.twitter.com/g1c99LO5lK — Daniel (@0xDani) May 19, 2026 This single purchase of $635,000 instantly ignited netizens' curiosity and imagination. What kind of item would require swiping such an astronomical sum in one go? The community was filled with all kinds of jokes and speculation, with some commenting jokingly "One Bentley please," "Lambo season confirmed," while others speculated this might have been swiping for a mansion or a Penthouse. In addition, many were incredulous about the card's credit limit, curious about how ordinary POS machines or online payment gateways could handle such a massive single authorization; the original poster speculated that this was likely completed through a special online payment channel. Of course, in the crypto sphere, there were no shortage of skeptical voices. Some netizens suspected this might be "Wash trading" conducted to boost Ether.fi protocol transaction volume, or a fake purchase deliberately manufactured for publicity. Beyond marveling at the massive amount, the hottest topic in the discussion area was actually "complaining about the meager cashback." Sharp-eyed netizens calculated that the $3,177 rebate represented only about 0.5% of the $635,000 purchase amount. Compared to Ether.fi's officially advertised maximum 3% cashback, many called this transaction "shortchanged," and even mocked it as "Terrible cash back." Some netizens pointed out that if this whale had used the 3% tier premium card, they could have received up to $19,000 in WETH back. In response, the original poster explained that the user likely used the basic tier (Core) card, which drops to a 0.5% cashback rate after spending exceeds $2,000. The protagonist of this incident, Ether.fi Cash, is a "DeFi-native credit card" launched by the well-known Ethereum liquid restaking protocol Ether.fi. It is fundamentally different from the common crypto debit cards on the market (which require selling coins for top-up first): - Non-custodial and collateralized lending: Users don't need to hand over their assets to centralized institutions for custody. You can directly use ETH, eETH, or stablecoins in your wallet as collateral and borrow fiat currency for spending through "Borrow Mode." - Never Sell: This is the card's biggest selling point. Your crypto assets continue to generate staking and liquidity yields in the Ether.fi vault, while you can also use the card to spend, perfectly solving the pain point of "wanting to spend money but not wanting to sell coins to pay taxes or miss out on price appreciation." - Global Visa compatibility: Supports over 100 million Visa-accepting physical and online merchants worldwide, with Apple Pay and Google Pay integration. Although the cashback rate sparked polarized discussion, this astronomical transaction did successfully provide free advertising for Ether.fi Cash, and many supporters praised it as the "Future of finance," showcasing the potential of Web3 payments gradually moving toward mass adoption.